Planning the Great Acceleration: Contributions of planning theory, ideology, and implementation to planetary transformation and social-ecological decline

Abstract

In the years and decades following WWII, global energy and resource consumption were unleashed on an unprecedented scale. This paper examines the role of planning theory and practice in shaping the spatial transformations associated with the Great Acceleration and the emergence of the Anthropocene. Using Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, as an illustrative case study, the authors draw on archival sources and spatial analysis of historical subdivision data to investigate how dominant planning concepts, particularly the Garden City and Neighbourhood Unit models, were deployed between 1946 and 1981. The study demonstrates how these planning frameworks helped rationalise and accommodate suburban expansion, automobile dependence, and resource-intensive urban growth. By linking local planning decisions to broader global processes of socio-ecological change, the paper contributes to understanding how planning ideologies and implementation practices became embedded in urban development patterns that continue to influence contemporary sustainability challenges.